Sunday, 29th June 2014
By Chandani Kirinde
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The Government has no immediate plans to evacuate around 1,000 Sri Lankans working in Iraq despite a travel warning and a fullscale war there, an External Affairs Ministry (EAM) official said yesterday.
He said about 400 Sri Lankans were working at the Erbil International Airport in the Kurdistan region which was not affected by the ongoing war between government troops and the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The official said there were around 200 Sri Lankans working in construction sites in Erbil and some in hotels while in the northern Iraqi town of Sulaymaniyah, some 250 Lankans were working in hotels and hospitals.
“No Sri Lankans have been affected by the fighting as they did not work in violence-hit areas unlike many Indians who had to flee these areas which were overrun by the rebels,” the EAM’s Public Communications Division Chief A.M.J. Sadiq said.
Even though there are no plans to evacuate the Lankans, the EAM has advised Sri Lankans to exercise extreme caution in travelling to Iraq, until further notice.
In the travel advisory, the EAM also urged Lankans in Iraq to remain in contact with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Baghdad for necessary advice and updated information on the evolving security situation.
Sri Lanka’s ambassador Sumith Nakandala had visited the area where the majority of Lankans live and briefed the Government on the situation, Mr. Sadiq said.
From : http://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/sunday-times-sri-lanka/textview
